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Golf guide • Northern Ireland • County Down

Golf in Newcastle: Royal County Down at the foot of the Mountains of Mourne

Newcastle, a small seaside resort in County Down about an hour south of Belfast, is home to Royal County Down, whose Championship Links, founded in 1889, ranks among the very best courses in the world. You can also play the Annesley Links, the club's second course, and, half an hour away, the clifftop links at Ardglass. The best season runs from May to September.

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Newcastle stretches along a sandy beach where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the Irish Sea. Above the town rises Slieve Donard, 850 metres, the highest point in Northern Ireland. North of the promenade begins Murlough Nature Reserve, a dune system on the edge of Dundrum Bay: this is where Royal County Down laid out its two links, among golden gorse, heather and marram grass.

The town owes its growth to the railway, which reached the seafront in 1869, and then to the grand red-brick hotel opened in 1898 by the same company, a stone's throw from the first tee. People come above all for the Championship Links, ranked number one in the world by Golf Digest in 2024, where visitor tee times are scarce. The rest of the stay is built around it.

Half an hour to the east, on the Lecale peninsula, Ardglass offers a quite different kind of golf: holes clinging to the cliff and a clubhouse set in a 15th-century merchant's castle. Three to five nights allow you to play all three courses, walk in the Mournes and visit Dundrum Castle without rushing.

The courses

Links green ringed by shaggy-lipped bunkers and flowering gorse, a grey sea on the horizon

Royal County Down, Championship Links

  • Architect: Old Tom Morris; Harry Colt (1926)
  • Opened 1889
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Founded in 1889 and extended to eighteen holes by Old Tom Morris the following year, then refined by Harry Vardon and above all Harry Colt in 1926, the Championship Links winds through the Murlough dunes, with the Mournes as a backdrop from almost every hole. Its bunkers are famous for their shaggy lips of marram, fescue and heather, and several tee shots are blind. A par 71 of more than 7,200 yards from the back tees: a demanding course, which hosted the Walker Cup in 2007 and the Irish Open in 2015, and calls for a good standard of play.

Signature hole. The 9th, a 486-yard par 4, is played from a tee perched behind a large dune to a fairway some twenty metres below, lined up on Slieve Donard: one of the most photographed holes in golf.

Official website

Royal County Down, Annesley Links

  • 18 holes
  • Par 67

The club's second links shares the same dunes and the same view of sea and mountains, but over just over 4,500 yards and a par of 67. Mackenzie & Ebert reworked it extensively in 2015, with three new holes where the two nines meet. Rumpled fairways and small, firm greens, sometimes blind: length matters little, precision a great deal. It is the right course for warming up the day before the Championship, for a second round in the day or for players who prefer a shorter challenge.

Official website

Ardglass Golf Club

  • Opened 1896
  • 18 holes
  • Par 70

The club was born in 1896 with seven holes, grew to nine in 1907, then to eighteen in the late 1960s, before being extended around Coney Island Bay. The links occupies a clifftop: the Irish Sea is visible from every tee and every green, and comes into play on eight holes. Hard fairways, small firm greens and wind from every direction. The clubhouse is a former fortified warehouse whose construction began no later than 1405. A spectacular course with a famously warm welcome.

Signature hole. The 2nd, Howd's Hole, is a 167-yard par 3 played over a rocky inlet to a green that looks tiny.

Official website

Where to stay

Marine & Lawn Slieve Donard

Designed by the Dublin architect James J. Farrell for the Belfast and County Down Railway, the hotel opened on 24 June 1898 at the foot of the Mournes, on the sea and beside Royal County Down. A red-brick Victorian façade, a tower, a spa and an indoor pool: it passed from Hastings Hotels to new owners in 2021 and is now part of the Marine & Lawn group. The first tee is a few minutes' walk away.

Burrendale Hotel

A four-star hotel of 68 rooms beneath the Mountains of Mourne, about ten minutes' walk from the centre of Newcastle. The rooms, lounge and bar were refurbished in spring 2025; the small thatched bar with its wood-burning stove remains the best place to end the evening. A spa and country club complete the address, practical for groups.

The Briers

A guesthouse on Middle Tollymore Road, in the countryside above the town, towards Tollymore Forest. Taken over in 2023 by new owners, who have begun a renovation, it offers nine rooms and two self-contained cottages. A calm, unpretentious base a few minutes' drive from Royal County Down, for those who prefer the welcome of a small house to a large hotel.

Grand red-brick Victorian hotel with a lantern tower, a lawn in front and granite mountains at dusk

Where to dine

Brunel's

Opened in 2014 above a pub in town, Brunel's moved in 2017 to a larger dining room on Downs Road, a stone's throw from the Slieve Donard. Modern European cooking built on local producers, and a menu devoted to fine cuts of beef. Closed on Wednesdays; book for dinner in high season.

J.J. Farrall's

The Slieve Donard's grand dining room bears the name of the hotel's architect and has been serving since 1898. High ceilings, period details, views of the Mournes and the sea, and seasonal Irish cooking: beef from neighbouring farms, fish from the Irish Sea, game. Convenient after a round, since the course is right next door.

Beyond golf

The Mountains of Mourne

A granite range designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Mournes begin at the edge of town. The most popular route up Slieve Donard, 850 metres, starts in Donard Forest, follows the Glen River and then the Mourne Wall, a stone wall a metre and a half high that crosses fifteen summits around the Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs. A day's walk for strong legs, with the sea at your feet on a clear day.

Dundrum Castle

On a rocky hill above the village of Dundrum, a few minutes north of Newcastle, the Norman knight John de Courcy had this castle built in the early 13th century to control access to Lecale. Only ruins remain, including the round keep, but the view takes in Dundrum Bay, the Mournes and the dunes where Royal County Down is played.

Tollymore Forest

At Bryansford, a few minutes from Newcastle, Tollymore became Northern Ireland's first state forest park on 2 June 1955. The river trail forms a loop of about five kilometres along the Shimna, beneath ash, beech and oak, crossing some of the park's sixteen bridges, the oldest of which dates from 1726. An easy walk for a rest day.

Ruined round keep of a medieval castle on a wooded hill, overlooking a bay and mountains

When to go

The golf season runs from May to September: long days, mild temperatures and courses at their best, with gorse in flower in spring and heather in late summer. April and October remain playable on these fast-drying links, with fewer people but more wind and shorter days. In winter the oceanic climate stays mild but damp and windy. The weather changes quickly: always pack waterproofs.

Getting there

Belfast International Airport (BFS) is about 1 hour 10 minutes by road; George Best Belfast City (BHD) about an hour. Dublin (DUB), better served from continental Europe, is less than two hours away by motorway. Once there, a hire car or driver remains the simplest option, notably for reaching Ardglass, half an hour away.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors play Royal County Down?

Yes. Visitors play the Championship Links on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and the Annesley Links on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, as fourballs and with at least one caddie or forecaddie per group. Tee times are very limited and must be requested from the club.

What is the best golf course in Northern Ireland?

Royal County Down's Championship Links, in Newcastle, is the one most often cited: Golf Digest ranked it the world's number one course in 2024. Royal Portrush, which hosted the Open in 2025, is the other great benchmark.

Which courses can you play around Newcastle, County Down?

Royal County Down's Championship Links and Annesley Links, both in Newcastle, and Ardglass, a clifftop links half an hour's drive to the east.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Royal County Down?

Belfast International, about 1 hour 10 minutes by road, or Belfast City, about an hour. Dublin, less than two hours away, often has more direct flights.

When is the best time to play golf in Newcastle, Northern Ireland?

From May to September, when the days are long and the links in their best condition. April and October are quieter but windier.

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Your golf trip: Newcastle (County Down)

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Sloping fairway beneath tall oaks, running down towards a broad sea lough and green hills at sunset
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